Premonitions
by Angel Tsuiraku
Summary: This is an experimental story, so please review if you like it! The year is A.C. 200, and the boys have seperated. The Earth Sphere Unified Nation is cracking at the seams, but no one wants to help...except for five women...
1. Reflection

Premonitions  
  
This story is post-Endless Waltz. The year is A.C. 200, when all the pilots are twenty with the exception of Trowa, who is 21.  
  
Heero Yuy has taken on the name Heitai, given to him at birth by his parents before they were killed. During this point and time, Heero resided on the L-1 colony, completely out of contact with the other pilots. Though he has heard about some of the 'fires' that the Preventers had been putting out, he makes it a firm point to stay completely away from battle.  
  
Duo Maxwell, on the other hand, did not make any attempts to hide his identity, and lived peacefully on Earth in the former American city known as San Diego. He took up the profession of acting soon after leaving L-2 and Hilde S. behind, and had become quite a star.  
  
Trowa Barton kept the name 'Trowa' as opposed to Nanashi, and remained with the circus in solitude. He, too, kept far from the battlefield, preferring the quiet circus life to the hectic demons of the past.  
  
Quatre Raberba Winner remained the most well-known of the five, though his participation in the war as a Gundam Pilot had remained a secret. He ran the company and sent it to new heights of success, branching out to put the Winner name in the multi-media market. Winner Enterprises, under Quatre's steady leadership, became well known in the movie and music businesses, while continuing to dominate the natural resource market in space.  
  
Chang Wufei disappeared into China following the Eve Wars, and had not been heard of since.  
  
This story starts with Relena Peacecraft, whom has continued her career as a Vice Foreign Minister. She has ignored the people's view of her, oblivious to the fact that they continue to look to her for guidance and leadership.  
  
"Good morning, Pagan. What does my schedule look like this morning?" asked Relena Peacecraft/Darlain as her trusted friend entered the room. Her two young nieces bowed to the elderly man and raced past him in search of their father and mother.  
  
"Good morning, Ms. Relena," Pagan replied as he set a tray of breakfast foods on the table near the windows of Relena's room. "Today you have a meeting with Mr. Winner about the Resource Satellite project as well as your standpoints on the Unification process. He seemed most curious to her your point of view. I understand the project is most sensitive. He commented that the committee has made very little progress in the past four and a half years."  
  
Four and a half years, Relena thought with a jolt. It had been a long time since the end of the war. A long time since she'd had contact with most of the pilots. Only Quatre had managed to stay in touch, and he did so strictly for business.  
  
Containing her surprise, Relena nodded. "Very well, thank you for reminding me."  
  
Despite his long years of service, Relena hardly felt comfortable with being anything less formal with the elderly man. He had never breached the bounds of their professional relationship, either. Though the man respected her and served her loyally, Relena suspected that he was not entirely pleased with the way she had handled certain things after the end of the Eve Wars. Certain things like this Unification. It seemed so large a task, with two very hard-headed groups of people trying very hard to maintain their differences.  
  
Relena took a seat at the table and began to eat her breakfast, preoccupied. For someone so young—she'd just turned 20—she felt like such an old woman at times. She felt like someone who longed for the security of retirement, so she could live her life in peace.  
  
Peace. She frowned thoughtfully and sighed. Peace had reigned for the past four years, but she still felt that she had to peer over her shoulder at every sound, and that there was no one she could really trust. Not even her so-called 'friend', Dorothy Catalonia.  
  
But if there had been anything that Ms. Catalonia had shown Relena, it was how mistaken she had been. Even now the girl's words still haunted her. The woman had sarcastically praised every action that the younger, less experienced Relena had taken, and had watched smirking from the background as she nearly fell apart.  
  
And she would have, had she not been able to look to Heero Yuy as a source of courage and hope. Funny how such a stoic, cruel person could be the angel of mercy that the people had been looking for. And in that angel of mercy's wake had traveled Death, Shadow, Nobility, and Justice.  
  
As she finished her breakfast, Pagan began to set out her clothes. He'd chosen an off-pink business suite for her, with a crisp white dress shirt and a coral hair ribbon.  
  
"Thank you, Pagan, that will be all." Her voice left no room for argument, and Pagan silently left the room. She stood and clothed herself, wondering what the meeting with Quatre would be like. She hadn't seen him in quite some time—nearly six months. She recalled that at one time Duo referred to the young man as the leader of the pilots. The glue that held them all together. Funny that now she was the glue holding the people of the Earth together.  
  
Relena had only been up to the colonies a handful of times, though her position was starting to require a lot of travelling. She was learning about the colonies as fast as she could, and was starting to understand the day-to-day struggles of the people of space. Still, Unification looked risky, and Relena was none too hopeful. She only hoped her meeting with Quatre would clear things up. She was still haunted by images of the past, images she hoped she could rid the people of.  
  
She picked up her phone and dialed the number of her new commissioner Geoffrey Marks. He was young, about her age, actually. He was strikingly attractive with a nice tan and sparkling emerald-colored eyes. She smiled as she recalled the way the reporters had leapt all over these facts, claiming that 'Ms. Peacecraft/Darlain is looking for a partner in bed rather than a partner in business.'  
  
Well, the reporters were wrong. Geoff was more than an intelligent and resourceful man, he was also her friend. She smiled as he picked up the phone, grumbling.  
  
"It's Sunday," he grumbled, "so you better have a damn good reason to be calling me at seven a.m."  
  
"Geoff," she replied cheerfully. "I have a meeting, and I'd like you to attend, as well."  
  
"Ms. Darlain…sorry about that."  
  
She waved it off, smiling. "Don't worry about it, Geoff. And I told you to call me Relena. You should get dressed, this might prove to be interesting. I know how much you like to travel."  
  
She could practically hear Geoff's exasperation. "What time do I have to be there?"  
  
"The meeting starts at noon."  
  
"All right…I'll stop by your estate to pick you up at about 11:20."  
  
"Ciao!"  
  
"Bye."  
  
Relena set her phone in its cradle and smiled once more. Geoff was obviously not a morning person. She wondered why she'd never noticed before. Her smiled widened as she thought of the look Heero would have on his face if he knew.  
  
"Well, Heero…I've moved on…" she murmured aloud, and turned to her computer to start her work day. 


	2. Meeting from Hell

__

This is the authoress. Thank you for taking the time to read this, hopefully you liked the first part! This is where the other pilots come in, and stay tuned in later parts for other characters from the show, like Dorothy, Mariemaia, Zechs, etc. Enjoy!

Premonitions 2: Meeting From Hell

Geoffrey Marks entered Quatre Raberba Winner's office behind Relena, allowing himself to look the young business tycoon over. He'd heard a lot about Winner Enterprises, the young man's company, and he'd been quite impressed by its success. Since the death of the previous owner, Winner Enterprises had increased its income over 20%, and overall had taken a more active interest in the communities that the company headquarters resided in. There where six or seven company headquarters on Earth, and five in space. Quatre had made his main headquarters on L-4, but when he was on Earth, he often used the European headquarters as a home base.

Geoff found himself impressed with the young man. Quatre had broken out into a warm smile as he greeted Relena, and was comfortable enough with her to return her hug. He turned to Geoff, still smiling warmly, and shook the man's hand with a surprisingly firm grip.

"Welcome, Ms. Relena, Mr. Marks. The other sectional heads will be arriving shortly. May I offer you anything to drink?"

"Please," Geoff said, glancing Relena's way. Relena nodded, and Quatre strode across the long room to the small refrigerator. This surprised Geoff; in the corner was a servant who had been ready to retrieve whatever they asked. Instead, the young Mr. Winner was getting the drinks himself, as if they were guests in his own home.

"I can offer you hot tea, iced tea, champagne, red or white wine, scotch, beer—" he chuckled, seeing Geoff's stricken look—"Many of my colleagues like Budweiser, actually…As I was saying, orange juice, soft drinks, or water."

"I'll take a Bud," Geoff replied, settling back into one of the chairs that Quatre had offered them.

"Water is fine, thank you."

Quatre walked back across the room with their drinks. It was a game he was an expert at; toy around the subject with polite gestures and speech, pretend that you were the closest of friends, and secretly be plotting ways to announce your proposal to get your way. It was all politics, and politics was something that Quatre Winner excelled at.

Geoff was studying the room intently. It was large, and long, and a huge table ran along its length. There were many chairs lining the table, including Quatre's favorite, which was at its head. The room was used only for meetings about the company or Unification leaders, and it was so well lit that the walls seemed to sparkle.

"Every single sectional will be represented today," Quatre was explaining. "Even the Asian sector has sent out someone. Not the sectional leader, however…"

Relena frowned at this news. Asia had been resentful and quiet ever since the Earth Sphere Unified Nation had been established.

"Frankly, I'm worried," she replied. "Delegates from England have stated that there are calls from the people for independence. They aren't sending a leader, either, just one of their citizens to sit in and ask questions. England wishes to be its own nation again. If that happens, I fear a revolt in Asia. The Nation will crumble."

Quatre set down leaned forward, pinning her with a penetrating gaze. "Miss Relena, if this Nation falls, Unification will _never _take place. The peace you used to call for so avidly will never come about. You and I _must_ persuade the other sectional leaders that Unification is the best path for them."

Geoff sighed, and nailed Quatre with a look of his own. "Mr. Winner, what exactly do you know about this program? Don't you have your own company to run?"

Quatre looked stricken. "Excuse me, sir?"

"Well, the Unification program is _Ms._ _Relena's_ program. It was her idea from the very beginning," he reminded the younger man. Quatre's eyes narrowed.

"True. However, I was the one who constructed the plans and I am _still _the one funding the program. I am also L-4 sectional leader. Therefore, it is as much my program as hers, if not more so."

A tense silence fell over the group. Torn between her old friend and her business associate, Relena could do nothing but look from the tight face of one man to the other.

Never before had she been so glad to see the other sectional leaders arrive. She herself was the sectional leader of Cinq. There were leaders for each region of Earth: North American, South American, European, Asian, Cinq, and the United Arab Nations. However, straining ties with Asia and Europe meant that two leaders would not be attending.

There were also section leaders in space, one from each colony cluster; L-1, L-2, L-3, L-4, and L-5. Slowly, everyone made their way in and took their seats. Quatre and his servant brought them all drinks, and Relena noticed the tension in the man's face had faded. Once again he had become the perfect host and not the angered man she had seen just moments before.

The meeting got underway. By the end of it, tensions were mounted, there were two empty seats, and they were no closer to Unification.

--

"Have you seen this, Trowa?"

The banged man only blinked and looked up at Catherine Bloom. Trowa Barton had certainly never been a conversationalist, that was for sure. Cathy shook her head and smiled ruefully at him.

"Seen what?" he asked, and looked from his sister to the TV that she'd turned on upon entering.

"Quatre's making a public statement. He's been trying to get a commitment about the Resource Satellite project, since Earth's running out of natural resources, but it's not going well, I guess. And now they're saying that both Asia and England want to revolt against the Nation. 'Peacefully'."

Trowa shook his head. "Quatre works too hard."

Cathy glanced at him in utter disbelief. "Is that all you got from it? That Quatre works too hard? What about the revolts? What about Unification?" she asked. Trowa only shrugged.

"It's idealist. As for the revolts, well…Unification sounds a lot like Communism, don't you think? And you remember how England felt about Communism."

"Communism?" Cathy fell silent for a moment. "Yes, I suppose you're right, but if it means peace, Trowa…if it means you won't have to fight again…"

Trowa drew her closer. "Cathy, I'm home now."

Cathy said nothing, uncharacteristically silent. She simply held onto him and tried hard not to think about the future.

--

"Cut!"

"What?!" Duo Maxwell shouted, throwing his hands in the air. "What was wrong with that?"

Ignoring him, the director yelled out a few instructions to the camera men and gestured.

"Scene 12, take 5," someone called. "Rolling."

Duo turned back to his costar and recited his lines. By the time the filming was over, he was tired, frustrated, and in need of a nice, hot bath. He had heard about Quatre's public statement, but all he could do was shake his head and mutter, "What a shame." After all, what could he do about it?

After drifting away from the other pilots and losing Hilde, there wasn't much Duo cared for anymore. He'd jokingly dated Dorothy Catalonia for a while, saying that he'd always liked blondes, but in the end she proved too perceptive for comfort. She really didn't seem to enjoy peace, and didn't like having a good time…instead she poked and prodded until being with her became unbearable. Still, he supposed it would always be a good conversational topic.

Overall, Duo couldn't have cared less about Unification, girls, marriage, the Resource Satellite project, or at this point, even the other pilots. His life was good. He never, _ever_ wanted to be Shinigami again.

_That was the end of that_, he thought to himself, and headed for the showers. _Sorry Q, but I'm not fighting for something that could cause another full-fledged war._

--

Heero shut off the television and watched the room recede into darkness. No more, he wanted no part of it. He didn't need to kill anymore. He didn't need to be near Relena anymore. He didn't need much of anything anymore.

He liked it that way. He really did. Really…

--

Chang Wufei was a Preventer. Kind of. He didn't actively participate any longer, but he was a Preventer. He had a small home in China. He stayed there, out of contact with everyone. If he needed anything, town was a twenty-minute drive west. After all, the world had renounced him. So he honorable renounced the world. Here he could think about Meiran, the Long family, and his long lost love, Lian…


End file.
